Footwear manufacture

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacture of a piece of a footwear upper is provided. The piece is formed from a sheet which is folded to form a lamination. A method for forming a footwear upper which comprises at least one such piece is provided, wherein a folded edge of the piece then forms part of an opening of the finished footwear upper. Also provided are a piece of a footwear upper, and a footwear upper according to the methods provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to footwear, and more particularly to a method for forming a piece of a footwear upper.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Conventionally sports and casual footwear is constructed from a number of pieces, each of the pieces typically comprising a number of layers. The pieces forming the footwear upper are typically stitched at their edges to bond the layers together. Whilst this method leads to a sturdy construction, the presence of seams within an article of footwear can lead to irritation and discomfort for the wearer, particularly at or near edges which may rub against the wearer during use.

Accordingly, there is an on-going effort by footwear manufacturers to develop footwear providing improved comfort at a reduced cost, in particular a need to eliminate seams in the footwear upper which may cause discomfort to the wearer, while maintaining the comfort and durability of the footwear upper.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a piece of a footwear upper comprising: providing a sheet of material, folding the sheet and forming a lamination from the folded sheet.

In one embodiment, the piece is then molded to a suitable three dimensional configuration.

In one embodiment, the molding involves placing the piece into a heat press molding apparatus including complementary shaped first and second molding portions, wherein the first molding portion is configured to receive a complementary second molding portion so that the piece is formed into a three dimensional configuration therebetween.

In one embodiment, the piece is subsequently trimmed to the desired size such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination. Advantageously, this can result in improved comfort for the wearer as such an edge can result in lower irritation than a cut, hemmed or stitched edge.

In one embodiment, cushioning is provided between the folded sheet before the lamination is formed. Advantageously, the cushioning can improve the comfort and durability of the footwear upper.

In one embodiment the sheet of material is molded into a three dimensional precursor configuration before being folded.

In one embodiment the three dimensional precursor configuration includes at least one recess configured to receive cushioning.

In one embodiment, the sheet of material has more than one layer.

One embodiment of the present invention is a method of forming a footwear upper comprised of one or more pieces which are attached together, wherein at least one of the pieces is formed as described above, and wherein the pieces are configured such that an opening of the upper is defined by at least part of the folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.

The pieces of the footwear upper may be ultrasonically welded, sewn, attached with adhesive or a combination thereof.

In one embodiment, a strip of material is additionally provided to at least partially cover a join between pieces.

One embodiment of the present invention is a method of forming an article of footwear, wherein the footwear upper or pieces of the footwear upper are formed as described above.

Another aspect of the present invention is a piece of a footwear upper comprising a lamination which has been formed from a folded sheet.

One embodiment is a piece of a footwear upper as above which has further been molded to a suitable three dimensional configuration.

One embodiment is a piece of a footwear upper as above which has been trimmed such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.

In one embodiment, the piece of footwear upper further comprises cushioning disposed within the lamination.

In one embodiment, sheet which forms the lamination has more than one layer.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a footwear upper comprising one or more pieces wherein a least one of the pieces is a piece as described above and an opening which is at least partly defined by at least part of a folded edge of a folded sheet lamination.

At least some of the pieces of the footwear upper have been joined by ultrasonic welding, stitching, adhesive or a combination thereof.

In one embodiment, at least part of a join between pieces is covered by a strip of material.

Another embodiment of the present invention is an article of footwear comprising a footwear upper, or a piece of a footwear upper as described above.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method of forming a footwear upper comprised of one or more pieces which are attached together, wherein at least one of the pieces is formed according to the following steps: providing a sheet of material; molding the sheet into a suitable three-dimensional precursor configuration, wherein the precursor configuration includes at least one recess configured to receive cushioning; providing cushioning to the sheet; folding the sheet; forming a lamination from the folded sheet, wherein the cushioning is between the folded sheet; molding the folded sheet lamination to a suitable three-dimensional configuration; trimming the molded lamination to the desired size such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination; and wherein the pieces are configured such that an opening of the footwear upper is defined by at least part of the folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.

Another aspect of the present invention is a footwear upper comprising: one or more pieces, wherein at least one of the pieces comprises: a lamination which has been formed from a folded sheet, which has been molded into a suitable three-dimensional configuration, and trimmed such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination; and cushioning disposed within the lamination; and an opening which is at least partly defined by at least part of a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in further detail by reference to the attached drawings illustrating exemplary forms of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet formed of two layers.

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b are cross sectional views through a molding device showing the sheet being molded to a three dimensional precursor configuration

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show the precursor molded sheet, where 3 a shows a perspective view and 3 b shows a cut-away view

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b show the formation of a lamination by folding the precursor sheet

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b are cross-sectional views through a molding device showing the lamination being molded into a three dimensional configuration.

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b are perspective views showing the molded lamination before and after trimming to form a piece of footwear upper.

FIG. 7 shows a heel piece of a footwear upper.

FIGS. 8 a and 8 b show how a footwear upper might be formed from pieces.

FIGS. 9 a and 9 b show how extra pieces of material might be introduced to coved joins of a footwear upper.

FIG. 10 shows a finished article of footwear comprising a footwear upper formed using methods of the present invention

FIGS. 11 a and 11 b are cross-sectional views through a molding device showing a sheet being molded into a three dimensional precursor configuration with recesses for receiving cushioning.

FIGS. 12 a and 12 b show a precursor molded sheet with recesses to receive cushioning, where 12 a shows a perspective view and 12 b shows a cutaway view.

FIGS. 13 a-13 c show the formation of a lamination by folding the precursor sheet, including the introduction of cushioning.

FIGS. 14 a and 14 b are cross-sectional views through a molding device showing the lamination with cushioning being molded into a three dimensional configuration.

FIG. 15 shows a piece of footwear upper which contains cushioning within the lamination.

FIGS. 16 a-16 h show various methods by which pieces of footwear upper may be joined.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring firstly to FIG. 1, in the preferred embodiment a piece of footwear upper may be formed from a sheet of material 100 which is made up of multiple layers. In this case, these layers are foam 10 and fabric 11 which are bonded by an adhesive 12. The fabric side of the sheet 100 will form the exterior surface of the finished piece of footwear upper, while the foam 10 will form the interior of the piece. In this case, the foam 10 provides rigidity to the finished piece while the fabric 11 is provided to improve the comfort and aesthetic appeal of the piece. However, it is also possible to use a sheet formed of only one layer, or a sheet comprising more than two layers.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, the sheet is molded to form a precursor shape which will facilitate subsequent folding and molding of the sheet. This molding is achieved using known heat molding techniques involving the application of heat and pressure. As shown in FIG. 2 a, this involves placing the sheet 100 between the complementary portions 20, 21 of a molding machine which typically consists of a convex mold portion 21 and concave mold portion 20, each mold portion having surface relief features defining the shape of the resulting molded precursor sheet 101 as shown in FIG. 2 b. The mold also provides a guide-line 22 which will facilitate subsequent folding of the precursor sheet. Furthermore, in this case where the sheet has multiple layers, this initial molding may advantageously bond the layers 10, 11 together.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show the resulting molded precursor sheet 101. FIG. 3 a shows a perspective view of the precursor sheet where the guide-line 22 defines two portions of the molded three-dimensional molded sheet which are roughly symmetrical. FIG. 3 b shows a cutaway view through axis C-C.

The precursor sheet is then folded to form a lamination of the two portions defined by the guide-line 22. In this case, an adhesive 41 is first applied to the foam side of the molded precursor sheet, as shown in FIG. 4 a, and the sheet is then folded as indicated by arrow A1, along the guideline 22 to form a folded edge 42 and a lamination of the two portions of the precursor molded sheet.

The lamination formed by the folded sheet 102 is then placed in a second mold as shown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b. As before, the molding machine consists of a convex mold portion 51 and concave mold portion 50, each mold portion having surface relief features defining the shape of resulting molded lamination 102 formed from the folded sheet. The folded edge 42 is placed within the mold and will form an edge of the finished piece of footwear upper. The piece is molded into a three-dimensional configuration which is substantially based upon the shape of part of a human foot. The molded lamination 102 is then trimmed, as shown in FIG. 6 a, to form the final piece of footwear upper 103 as shown in FIG. 6 b, one edge 42 of which is formed by the folded edge of the folded sheet lamination. In this case, the piece is the forward section of the footwear upper, and the molded shape is configured such that the folded edge 42 is disposed at the top rear of the piece, where it will form a part of the opening of the footwear upper and be in contact with the wearer's ankle. This folded edge will result in less irritation for the wearer in comparison to, for example, a hemmed edge, or to en edge formed of the stitched edge of two layers of material.

An exemplary method of forming a footwear upper from pieces manufactured according to the description above is now described as shown in FIGS. 7-9. FIG. 7 shows a heel piece 104 of a footwear upper which has been manufactured using the method describe above. The molding has been configured so that the folded edge 43 of the folded lamination forms the top rear edge of this piece. In this case, the heel piece is integral with an insole 71, though this need not be the case, as the insole might be provided as a separate piece, or the finished footwear upper might not comprise an insole.

FIGS. 8 a and 8 b show how the two pieces of the footwear upper 103, 104 might be combined to form a footwear upper 801. The pieces are joined along the seam 83. This join can be achieved, for example, through stitching, adhesives, ultrasonic welding or a combination thereof. These methods will be described in detail below.

The footwear upper 801 comprises an opening 81, the edges of which are formed of the folded edges 42, 43 of the folded laminations which comprise the forward and heel pieces 103, 104 of the footwear upper. This advantageously results in the edge being free of cut or hemmed edges, or of stitched or otherwise bonded seams between layers of pieces of the footwear upper. This results in greater comfort and lower irritation for the wearer.

To increase the comfort and improve the aesthetic appeal of the footwear upper 801, a strip of material 91 may be introduced to cover the bond 83 between the two pieces, as shown in FIGS. 9 a and 9 b. This material may be provided with an adhesive on its inside surface 92 to bond it to the footwear upper 801, covering the seam 83.

This footwear upper 801 may finally be joined to a sole 1001 to form a finished article of footwear 1010 as shown in FIG. 10.

A further advantage of the method of manufacture described above is that anatomically configured cushioning can optionally be included in the pieces of the footwear upper to improve the comfort and durability of the resulting article of footwear. This is shown in FIGS. 11-15 and described below.

FIGS. 11 a and 11 b show the molding of the sheet 100 into a three-dimensional pre-cursor configuration. This is similar to the mold of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b in that the mold comprises complementary mold portions 20 a and 21 a, one of which is largely convex, the other of which is largely concave. The mold portions include further surface features 1101 to define recesses 1201 in the resulting molded precursor sheet.

The resulting molded precursor sheet is shown in perspective view in FIG. 12 a while FIG. 12 b shows a cut-away view through axis C-C. The recesses are configured to receive cushioning. This facilitates the positioning of cushioning at positions which will be anatomically appropriate in the assembled article of footwear. FIGS. 13 a-13 c show the formation of a folded sheet lamination, where, as before, an adhesive 41 is coated on the foam side of the precursor molded sheet.

Cushioning 1301 is introduced in the recesses 1201. This cushioning might be made of any suitable cushioning material. For example the cushioning may comprise foam, thermoplastic rubber, gel, silicone or fibrefill, or the cushion could be a liquid pad (such as a sealed water pouch) or an air pad. Then, as shown in FIG. 13 c, the precursor molded sheet is folded along the guide-line 22, so that the padding will be enclosed by the layers of the folded sheet lamination 102 a.

The folded sheet lamination 102 a is then placed in a second mold as shown in FIGS. 14 a and 14 b. As before, the molding machine consists of a convex mold portion 52 a and concave mold portion 51 a, each mold portion having surface relief features defining the shape of resulting molded lamination 102 a formed from the folded sheet. Again, the folded edge 42 is placed within the mold and will form an edge of the finished piece of footwear upper. The first and second mold portions 51 a, 52 a have further surface relief features 1401, 1402 to receive the areas of the molded lamination in which the cushioning 1301 is disposed. Having been molded, the piece is then trimmed to form the final piece of footwear upper 103 a.

Such a trimmed piece is shown in FIG. 15; in this example, the piece is the forward section of a footwear upper. As before, the molding and trimming results in a piece of footwear upper where the folded edge 42 is disposed at the top rear of the piece, where it will form a part of the opening in contact with the wearer's ankle, after the footwear upper has been assembled. The piece now also further comprises cushioning 1301 disposed at positions which will be anatomically appropriate when the footwear upper is assembled—in this case at the top of the mid-foot and at the toe. This cushioning 1301 will increase the comfort of the footwear upper and can also increase its durability, as cushioning can be provided in regions which are subject to significant wear, for example at the toe region. The folded edge 42 located at the rear of the piece will result in greater comfort and reduced irritation for the wearer.

Methods by which two pieces 1601, 1602 may be joined to form a footwear upper will now be described with reference to FIGS. 16 a-16 h. In all cases a further piece of material can optionally be added to cover the join, increasing the aesthetic appeal of the shoe and strengthening the join.

FIG. 16 a shows two pieces 1601, 1602 which are joined by use of adhesive only. Adhesive 1603 is provided between the two pieces 1601, 1602 at least partially covering the point at which they overlap. FIG. 16 b shows the two pieces 1601 1602 are joined through stitching 1604. The join formed by the overlapping portion can then be covered by introducing a further piece of material 1605 which is located over the join and bonded to the surface of the pieces using adhesive 1606.

FIG. 16 d shows another method by which two pieces 1601, 1602 might be joined through stitching. The edges are joined by stitching 1604. The excess material might then be trimmed (not shown) before being folded over, as shown by arrow A2 in FIG. 16 e. The folded seam is then covered by introducing a further piece of material 1605, located over the join, which is bonded to the surface of the pieces using adhesive 1606.

FIG. 16 g shows two pieces 1601, 1602 which are joined through ultrasonic welding to form ultrasonic weld 1607. As shown in FIG. 16 h, the join can then be covered by introducing a further piece of material 1605, located over the join, which is bonded to the surface of the pieces using adhesive 1606.

The preferred embodiments described above are by way of example only; the scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims, and modifications to the examples may be made within the scope of the claims. In particular, where steps of the method of manufacture are given, it will be evident to one skilled in the art that the order of these steps may be different, and that steps can be omitted where appropriate. 

1. A method of forming a piece of a footwear upper comprising: providing a sheet of material; folding the sheet; forming a lamination from the folded sheet.
 2. A method according to claim 1, comprising the further step of molding the piece to a suitable three dimensional configuration.
 3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the molding includes placing the piece into a heat press molding apparatus including complementary shaped first and second molding portions, wherein the first molding portion is configured to receive a complementary second molding portion so that the piece is formed into a three dimensional configuration therebetween.
 4. A method according to claim 1, comprising the further step of trimming the piece to the desired size such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
 5. A method according to claim 1, comprising the further step of providing cushioning between the folded sheet before the lamination is formed.
 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sheet of material is molded into a three dimensional precursor configuration before being folded.
 7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the three dimensional precursor configuration includes at least one recess configured to receive cushioning.
 8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sheet of material has more than one layer.
 9. A method of forming a footwear upper comprised of one or more pieces which are attached together, wherein at least one of the pieces is formed as described in claim 1, and wherein the pieces are configured such that an opening of the upper is defined by at least part of the folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
 10. A method of forming a footwear upper according to claim 9, wherein the pieces are ultrasonically welded.
 11. A method of forming a footwear upper according to claim 9, wherein the pieces are sewn.
 12. A method of forming a footwear upper according to claim 9, wherein the pieces are attached with adhesive.
 13. A method of forming a footwear upper according to claim 10, with the additional step of providing a strip of material to at least partially cover a join between pieces.
 14. A method of forming an article of footwear, wherein the footwear upper or pieces of the footwear upper are formed as claimed in claim
 1. 15. A piece of a footwear upper comprising a lamination which has been formed from a folded sheet.
 16. A piece of a footwear upper according to claim 15 which has further been molded to a suitable three dimensional configuration.
 17. A piece of a footwear upper according to claim 15 which has been trimmed such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
 18. A piece of a footwear upper according to claim 15 which further comprises cushioning disposed within the lamination.
 19. A piece of a footwear upper according to claim 15 wherein the sheet which forms the lamination has more than one layer.
 20. A footwear upper comprising: one or more pieces, wherein at least one of the pieces is a piece as claimed in claim 15; and an opening which is at least partly defined by at least part of a folded edge of a folded sheet lamination.
 21. A footwear upper according to claim 20, wherein at least some of the pieces have been joined by ultrasonic welding.
 22. A footwear upper according to claim 20, wherein at least some of the pieces have been joined by stitching.
 23. A footwear upper according to claim 20, wherein at least some of the pieces have been joined with adhesive.
 24. A footwear upper according to claim 21, wherein at least part of a join between pieces is covered by a strip of material.
 25. An article of footwear comprising a footwear upper, or a piece of footwear upper, as claimed in claim
 15. 26. A method of forming a footwear upper comprised of one or more pieces which are attached together, wherein at least one of the pieces is formed according to the following steps: providing a sheet of material; molding the sheet into a suitable three-dimensional precursor configuration, wherein the precursor configuration includes at least one recess configured to receive cushioning; providing cushioning to the sheet; folding the sheet; forming a lamination from the folded sheet, wherein the cushioning is between the folded sheet; molding the folded sheet lamination to a suitable three-dimensional configuration; trimming the molded lamination to the desired size such that an edge of the piece comprises a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination; and wherein the pieces are configured such that an opening of the footwear upper is defined by at least part of the folded edge of the folded sheet lamination.
 27. A footwear upper comprising: one or more pieces, wherein at least one of the pieces comprises: a lamination which has been formed from a folded sheet, and which has been molded into a suitable three-dimensional configuration; and cushioning disposed within the lamination; and an opening which is at least partly defined by at least part of a folded edge of the folded sheet lamination. 